I’m an English major, and if you ask most people, that means I’ll be unemployed after I graduate. Being a college student today means being a student in a time where almost everyone is a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) major, and those who aren’t, are often met with blank looks and expressions of, “What are you going to do with that?!”
I wish I could enjoy science or math enough to study it, but truthfully, it bores me and often leaves me confused. I was overjoyed when I finally took my last ever math class. Instead, I love to read and write. I highly respect STEM majors for all the hard work they do, but I wish that we lived in a world where all majors were appreciated equally. Even as a humanities major myself, I, too, am often guilty of looking down on someone whose major is in something that seems like it will never result in a well-paid job. So here are some reasons why we should all think twice about judging someone on the basis of their major.
1. Each major teaches you something that is valuable to employers.
I am always the first person to say that my major is “unemployable” just because I know that is what people are thinking. I say it first so that they know I understand what I am getting into, even though I do honestly believe that there are jobs out there for me. In fact, there are a lot: lawyer, teacher, writer, and more. And that’s just for English majors. What you receive your degree in does not automatically decide your future career path. It just teaches you the skills you need to be successful in the real world.
2. Non-STEM majors do a lot of work too.
Whether it’s dancing so much that you have constant blisters on your feet, straining your voice from musical rehearsals, or creating marketing strategies, all college students have their own struggles. Yes, I will agree that organic chemistry sounds awful, but so is writing a 15-page research paper analyzing Socrates or Shakespeare. No major is harder than the other. We all put in work.
3. Our career choices are important also.
Of course, being a doctor or an engineer is amazing and essential, but what would our society be like without artists, translators, filmmakers, teachers, or authors? Every job is rewarding and beneficial to society in its own unique way. Each job makes up a different sector of our world, and without just one, we would all feel its loss.
4. Just because someone doesn’t study the typical “hard” subjects, doesn’t mean that he or she is not smart.
Many liberal arts majors took calculus and physics in high school, too, and are often very successful in many areas of schoolwork. Someone who studies a non-STEM major is not stupid, maybe he or she is just better in a different field or they enjoy it more. And there is nothing wrong with that.
These are just a couple of reasons why all majors should be respected. So next time we think of rolling our eyes at someone’s major that may seem worthless, let’s think of what our world would look like without it present. College students everywhere should learn that it’s okay to pursue what you love, whether it is STEM-related or something completely different.
